Your possible Mayflower ancestor

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YOUR POSSIBLE MAYFLOWER ANCESTOR.

By Frank H. Kasson

William Bradford gives a total of 104 persons
who came over in the Mayflower. Of these, eighteen
were wives and eleven young women or girls, of
whom Priscilla Mullins was probably the oldest.
This leaves seventy-five males, of whom fifty-two
were men and twenty-three boys. Included in the
latter are three infants : Samuel Eaton, spoken of
as a ''sucking child," Oceanus Hopkins, who got
his name from being born during the voyage over,
and Peregrine White, who entered life while the
Mayflower lay at anchor in what is now Province-
town harbor. In this article I desire to say some-
thing about each one of the seventy-five, as it may
help to answer questions on the part of many per-
sons who think, or hope, they are descended from
a Mayflower ancestor.

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We will divide these men and boys into several
groups. And, first, the boys. Seven of them died
during that first winter. Jasper More died on Dec.
6, before they came up to Plymouth ; and within
six months was followed by six others, at Plymouth
— another More boy, Joseph Mullins, Oceanus Hop-
kins, the son of Thomas Tinker and the two sons
of John Turner. Next we have four boys who
later died unmarried. These were Wrestling Brew-
ster— son of good Elder William Brewster — of
whom the record is that he died "quite young."
And John Billington, Jr., who died some time be-
tween 1627 and 1630. And John Crackstone, who
got lost and froze his feet, as a result of which
he died, about 1628. These three died in Plymouth.
But the boy William Latham remained unmarried,
and, more than twenty years after reaching Ply-
mouth, went to the Bahama Islands and died there
of starvation.

This leaves twelve of the Mayflower boys who
grew up, married, and had children. Only one of
these, Bartholomew Allerton, went back to Eng-
land, where he married and had children, but how
many, or their names, we have no means of know-

3

ing. The other eleven reared their families in
New England. They were : Love Brewster, who
on May 15, 1634, married Sarah Collier and had
four children : Sarah, Nathaniel, William and
Wrestling. He died in Duxbury in 1650. Francis
Billington, in the year 1634, married Christian,
widow of Francis Eaton, and they had eight chil-
dren, among them being Isaac, Martha, Rebecca
and Mary. He died in Yarmouth, some time after
1650. Richard More married and had four or
five children living, in 1650 ; but no names of wife
or children are given. He died in Scituate in 1656.
Joseph Rogers had seven children who lived : Jo-
seph, Thomas, Elizabeth, John, Mary, James and
Hannah. He died in Eastham in 1678. Resolved
White married Judith Vassall, April 8, 1640, and
they had eight children : William, John, Samuel.
Resolved, Ann, Elizabeth, Josiah and Susanna. He
died in Salem after 1680. Samuel Fuller married
Jane Lothrop. April 8, 1635. They had six chil-
dren who lived : Hannah, Samuel, Mary, Thomas.
Sarah and John. He died in Barnstable in 1683
Samuel Eaton married Martha Billington on Jan.
10, 1661. They had one child. He died in Middle-
boro in 1684. Henry Sampson married. Feb. 6,
1636, Ann Plummer. They had eight children:
Stephen, John, James. Caleb, Elizabeth, Hannah.
Mary and Dorcas. He died in Duxbury in 1684.
Giles Hopkins married Catharine Wheldon in Oc-
tober, 1639. They had ten children: Mary.
Stephen, John. Abigail, Deborah, Caleb. Ruth,
Joshua, William and Elizabeth. He died in Yar-
mouth in 1690. John Cooke married Sarah War-
ren, March 28, 1634. They had four children, in
1650: and two others, Mercy and Mary, later. He
died in Dartmouth in 1695. Peregrine White mar-
ried Sarah Bassett in 1648. They had six chil"-
dren: David, Jonathan, Sylvester. Peregrine. Sarah
and Mercy. He died in Marshfield in 1704.

These eleven who stayed in this country had al-
together sixty-nine children who survived. This

accounts for all the twenty-three boys.

* # * *

Of the fifty-two men. forty-one signed the May-
flower Compact. The other eleven, who did not.

included William Butten, ''a youth, servant to
Samuel Fuller," who died "when they drew near
ye coast." He was the first of all that company
to die. Then Edward Thompson, who died on Dec.
4, 1620, while they were still in what is now Prov-
incetown harbor. And Roger Wilder, Elias Story,
John Hooke, Solomon Power, John Langmore,
Robert Carter and William Halbeck. These men
were all employees. WTe do not know just when
they died during that awful winter, save that
Power died on Jan. 8. The other two members of

this group were William Trevor and Ely,

seamen, who had been "hired to stay a year here
in the country," which they did. "But when their
time was out, they both returned" to England.

So these eleven left no issue in Massachusetts.

###*•#

This brings us to the forty-one men who signed
the famous Compact. And, first, we will speak of
those who died during the first six months. It
shows how terribly the men suffered when we
realize that of the forty-one sturdy men who
signed that immortal document, in November, but
nineteen were alive the next May. Of the twenty-
two who died probably their beloved governor,
Mr. John Carver, who died in April, was the last
to succumb. The others were : James Chilton, who
died in Provincetown harbor, Dec. 6, 1G20, nine
days before the Mayflower started for Plymouth ;
Richard Bitteridge, who died on Dec. 21, just five
days after they made Plymouth harbor. Then
Degary Priest died on Jan. 1, 1621, and Mr. Chris-
topher Martin a week later, on Jan. 8. The other
seventeen men who died were Mr. William Midi ins
and Mr. William White, both of whom died on
Feb. 21, 1621. But the other fifteen men,— not
one of whom had the right to the honorable ap-
pellation of "Mister" — were in the order in which
their names appear as signers to the Compact:
Edward Tilley, John Tilley, Thomas Rogers,
Thomas Tinker, John Rigdale, Edward Fuller,
John Turner, John Crackstone, Moses Fletcher,
John Goodman, Thoinas Williams. Edward Mnr-
geson, Richard Clarke, John Allerton and Thomns
English.

5

This completes the list of the heroic dead of the
Mayflower signers, — twenty-two in all.

Note the good Bible names ; seven bore the name
John, four Thomas, one James and one Moses;
also, there were three Edwards, two Richards
and two . Williams. Seven of these twenty-two
left eight children in Plymouth; "William White
left two, W^illiam Mullins one, John Tilley one,
Thomas Rogers one, Edward Fuller one, James
Chilton one, and John Crackstone one. Of the
first eight signers, seven not only survived that
winter but lived on thirteen years or more. While
of the last eighteen signers but seven survived the
winter and of these two were dead before one of
the first seven died and of three others we do not

know the time of death.

* * # #

Of the nineteen signers who were alive the
next June, seven were married, four were widow-
ers and eight were unmarried. The four widowers
— Bradford, Allerton, Standish and Eaton — mar-
ried again, as did also five of the eight bachelors.
These sixteen men reared families as follows : Mr.
William Bradford had four children : John,
William, Mercy and Joseph. He died in Plymouth
in 1657. Mr. Edward Winslow had two children
who grew up: Edward and Elizabeth. He diec1 at
sea in 1655. Mr. William Brewster had the two
sons, Love and Wrestling, already referred to, and
two daughters, Faith and Patience, who came
later. He died in Duxbury in 1644. Mr. Isaac
Allerton had four children, three who came on the
ship — Bartholomew and his sisters, Remember and
Mary — and a son Isaac, born later. He died in
1659 at New Haven. Captain Myles Standish had
five children: Alexander, Myles, Josiah, Charles
and Lora. He died in Duxbury in 1656. John
Alden (and Priscilla) had eleven children, but
we only know the names of eight : John, Eliza-
beth, Joseph, David, Jonathan, Sarah, Ruth and
Mary. He died in Duxbury in 1687.

Mr. Samuel Fuller had two children, Samuel
and Mercy. He died in Plymouth, late in 1633.
Mr. Richard Warren had seven children, five
daughters who were born in England and came

6

over with his wife a little later, and two sons, Na-
thaniel and Joseph, born in this country. He died
at Plymouth in 1628. John Howland had ten
children : John, Jabez, Joseph, Isaac, Desire. Hope,
Elizabeth. Lydia, Hannah and Ruth. He died at
Plymouth in 1673. Mr. Stephen Hopkins had eight
children; four (Giles, Constance, Damaris and
Oceanus) before they reached Plymouth, and four
later— Deborah, Caleb, Ruth and Elizabeth. He
died in Plymouth in 1644. Francis Cooke had five
children; John came with him, and his wife came,
in 1623, bringing Jacob, Jane and Esther, and then
Mary was born in 1626. He died probably in
Plymouth, in 1663. Francis Eaton had four chil-
dren: Samuel (who was an infant in 1620). and
Rachel. Benjamin and another. He died in Ply-
mouth in 1633. John Billington had two children,
John and Francis. lie was hanged at Plymouth
in 1630. for the murder of John Newcomer. Gil-
bert Winslow never married; he returned later to
England. Peter Brown had four children, but
their names are not given. He died in Plymouth
in 1633. George Soule had eight children ■ George,
Zechariah, John (1632), Nathaniel, Benjamin, Pa-
tience, Elizabeth and Mary. He died in Duxbury
in 1680. Richard Gardiner never married. He was
a seaman and probably died in England. Edward
Dotey had eight children : YvTilliam, Faith. Ed-
ward, John, Isaac, Desire, Thomas, and Joseph,
who was born in April, 1651. He died in Yarmouth
in 1655. Edward Leister did not marry, but went
to Virginia and died there. These last two were
London youths who fought a duel on June 18, 1621.
and were punished therefor.

So eleven boys of that Pilgrim band later mar-
ried and had sixty-nine children who survived.
The men who did not sign the Mayflower compact
left no children in New England. The twenty-two
signers, who soon died, left eight who came with
them, and the nineteen survivors left seventy-seven
children who came in the Mayflower or were born
.in this country; a total of 154.

Perhaps one of these was your ancestor and his
blood flows in your veins.

7

HECKMAN

BINDERY INC.

at JUL 85

N. MANCHESTER,
INDIANA 46962